


Never Alone

by Pixyl



Category: All Elite Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-04-11 12:46:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19109959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixyl/pseuds/Pixyl
Summary: Kenny is sad, and Cody is there to comfort him.*Note - This is a friendship story, mostly. Implies things beyond friendship, and there's kissing.  Keeps current, established relationships in tact.





	1. Kenny and Cody

**Author's Note:**

> Story will be 3 parts, eventually
> 
> Inspiration for this came from a few places. First, Kenny's emotional answer to a question at the Starrcast Q&A, as well as glimpses of the friendship between Kenny and Cody from the Jericho Cruise and within the lead up and aftermath of the triple threat match at King of ProWrestling.

Matt and Nick decided to stop in to see how Kenny’s event was going, as they walked in, Kenny was answering questions. He looked sad, Matt noticed. Nick leaned over and whispered in Matt’s ear “he’s crying”. Matt nodded as they listened to Kenny give an honest and emotional answer about why Kota wasn’t in AEW. They could hear the pain in his voice, but knew there wasn’t anything they could do at the moment. “We should find Cody, let him know we might be needed tonight”, Matt whispered to his brother. Nick nodded in agreement. As soon as they saw that Kenny had recovered, they left the room, unseen, and went in search of Cody.

Cody wasn’t hard to find, chatting with a group of fans. When he spotted them, he excused himself and joined them. “What’s up” he asked. 

“Kenny may need some company tonight”, Matt told him.

“His screening not going well”, Cody asked.

“No, the screening likely went just fine. We stepped in just as as he was talking about Kota, and he got really emotional”, Nick said.

Cody nodded “I understand, I’ll meet him after.”

“We can all meet him”, Matt said. 

“I got this, at least some of us should be around to mingle with the fans,” Cody responded.

“He has a point, they’d notice if all of us were suddenly missing. EVP things you know,” Nick said.

With a smile and a wave, Nick and Matt headed back toward the lobby and Cody headed toward the screening area.

***

Cody peeked into the room, it was empty, except for Kenny talking with the people tearing down from the screening. Cody walked up to Kenny and threw an arm around his shoulders, “we should get out of here, you could use some food”.

“Not really hungry, thanks though, maybe Matt and Nick will go to dinner with you”, Kenny replied.

“They’re off mingling with fans, you’re stuck with me tonight”, Cody answered, smiling and turning Kenny toward the door. 

They both thanked the clean up crew, leaving them to their work, and headed out the door.

Cody steared Kenny toward the elevators, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

Kenny glanced over at Cody, flashed a small but sad smile, “where are we going?”

“Your room”, Cody answered.

*****  
As soon as the door to the room closed, Kenny crumbled in Cody’s grip. As the sobs poured out of him, Cody pulled him into a hug and held him tight, whispering words into his hair that Kenny probably didn’t hear.

Kenny held on just as tightly, certain that Cody’s arms were the only thing keeping him upright. “Cody, I… I’m…” he sobbed.

“Shh, it’s ok, you’re ok”, Cody whispered, planting a small kiss on Kenny’s temple. “It’ll be ok, I’m here for you”. 

Cody continued to hold Kenny while he cried, deciding only when his knee started to hurt to guide them toward the bed to sit down.

“I’m sorry… your knee…” Kenny said through his tears, looking down at his hands.

Cody situated himself on the bed, propped up against the pillows and pulled Kenny into his lap. “Don’t ever be sorry”, Cody said softy, “I’m here, always”

Kenny situated himself between Cody’s legs with his head on Cody’s chest, arms tucked around him still, as if he had to hold on to keep from falling. “Thank you”, he said, as he pressed a kiss into Cody’s chest.

Cody reached down, one hand on Kenny’s back rubbing soothing circles, the other gently running through his hair, just letting him cry. Cody’s thoughts drifted to how they got here, they were friends, but they’d fought with each other, yet somehow it's only brought them closer. Wrestling isn’t a place to make friends, but he’s found a family. He loves Brandi, and Kenny, Kota, Matt and Nick. They’ve always got each other. Suddenly a wave of sadness hit him. Kota is all alone, and they promised each other none of them would ever have to be alone. He squeezed Kenny closer to him, feeling sad for them both. 

Kenny’s grip on Cody loosened a little and he started to pull himself more on top of him. He situated himself such that he could look at Cody’s face. He never thought Cody would be one of his closest friends, but here he is, being so understanding. Kenny tries to read the expression on Cody’s face, he can’t quite place it, so instead of saying anything, he just leans forward and kisses him. 

Cody is snapped out of his thoughts by Kenny’s lips against his own. He pulls Kenny closer, opens his mouth to deepen the kiss a bit. When he pulls back, he looks at Kenny’s tear-stained face and smiles. “What was that for?”

“For you, for being so kind and understanding”, Kenny answered with a small smile, “Thank you”

“Of course,” Cody said, “I care about you, you know. I also know that you can smile better than that.”

Kenny laid his head down on Cody’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m not smiling as much these days”

“Oh Kenny, please, no sorrys,” Cody said, gently combing his fingers through Kenny’s hair. 

Kenny sighed and relaxed against Cody’s body. “You don’t understand, I can’t hold it together. I sobbed in front of everyone. How stupid. A simple question, I couldn’t answer a simple question.” 

“I get it, Kenny. I do. There’s nothing wrong with having feelings. I’m sure no one was judging you,” Cody said.

Kenny lifted his head slightly. “Having feelings? I definitely have feelings. Literally the world has seen them.” 

Cody smiled, looked Kenny in the eyes while answering, “Yes, part of the reason so many love you. You aren’t afraid to show your feelings. You put your heart into everything you do.”

“So many? Or is this your way of saying you love me?” Kenny asked, a small grin spreading across his lips. 

“That’s a little better,” Cody said, “You should know that I love you.”

“I do,” Kenny replied with a wink, “I just like to hear you say it.”

Cody flashed a bright smile, “I love you”.

Kenny’s smile almost reached his eyes, but not quite. He kissed Cody’s cheek and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Would you like to talk about what happened in there” Cody asked.

Kenny’s smile faded, he pushed himself up to sit next to Cody, still leaning against him slightly. He looked down at his hands, trying to stop the slight fidgeting. “Kota is… I mean I…”, Kenny searched for the words to explain, but kept faltering, eyes filling again.

Cody took Kenny’s hands in his own and squeezed them, waited for Kenny to look up, and when he did, “you love him. He’s your soulmate. Nothing about this was ever going to be easy. You did the right thing, he did the right thing. It will work out.. I feel it.” Cody stopped, he felt himself start to tear up, and now isn’t the time for that, not when Kenny needs his strength.

“I do. I love him more than anything. He deserves the world, all the best things, all his dreams. I can’t hold him back, I won’t.” The tears started falling again, “I miss him so much… hurts” Kenny stopped, looked at Cody and saw that he was starting to cry too, “my heart… it…” 

Cody wrapped an arm around Kenny, pulled him close, through his own tears “I know, I miss him too.” Cody leaned his head against Kenny’s, “I’m so sorry”. Cody squeezes the hand he’s still holding, unable to continue.

Kenny squeezes back, turns toward Cody, kisses his cheeks, his eyes, trying to kiss the tears away. “You love him too”, he says between kisses, “I’ve been so caught up in my own head, I wasn’t thinking… I know you’ve become good friends. Of course you feel this too.”

Cody shifts so he can sit up better, he takes Kenny’s hands again, “we all feel it, but we know that we don’t hurt the way you do. I feel guilty though. I know it’s hard right now, but it will be ok, it will work out. Kota loves you, never forget that. You’re working in different places, that’s business. Your relationship, though, that’s love. Distance can’t touch that.”

“I never forget, it’s knowing that he loves me that helps me get out of bed, no matter how much I hurt” Kenny says, searching for Cody’s eyes, sees he’s still looking down at their hands. “Hey, hey, look at me” he says softy, “why guilty?”

Slowly Cody raises his eyes to meet Kenny’s, “because the two of you are apart. We couldn’t make a deal work, though I feel like we could have tried harder. But I also think we all knew, this isn’t his dream, at least not right now. I care about him, I couldn’t pressure him. I knew you wouldn’t want that.”

“That’s why I couldn’t be in the meeting. It’s why I didn’t really discuss it with him prior, I knew if I’d asked him to come with me, that he would. I couldn’t ask him to give up his goals, his dreams. It would hurt much more if I’d made him resent me” Kenny said, still searching Cody’s face, “but there’s more, tell me what else is bothering you”.

Tears welled in Cody’s eyes again “Kota is alone. You have me, you have Nick and Matt. We promised each other that no one would be alone again. I failed him. I failed you” he said, trying to fight the tears.

Kenny pulled Cody into his arms, “you haven’t failed anyone. I do understand though, I feel that way sometimes as well, that I’ve failed him. But, Kota told me before I left, that he’s not really alone as long as we’re in each other’s heart. I’m sure that applies to you as well, you’ve got to know he loves you too.”

Cody’s eyes lit up, “for someone that doesn’t say much, his words are always loaded with meaning. I wasn’t always nice to him, I did a lot of things I regret, but I tried really hard to show him that I’m a better person now. I think in some ways, he’s made me better. In a lot of ways you have made me better. After the meeting, before I had to go to the airport, I made 2 promises to him. First, that he’d never be alone, that he could always count on me. And second, that I would take care of you. I’m going to keep as much of those promises as I can.”

“He never told me what you talked about, only that he did talk to you before you had to go. Cody, you are keeping your promises. I’m so grateful that I’m not alone tonight. Kota is right, he isn’t alone as long as we’re in each other’s hearts. He’s in your heart, that you’re worried about failing him shows that. He’s definitely made me better, I think he makes everyone he meets just a little better for knowing him,” Kenny said with a small smile.

Cody smiled back, “The Ibushi effect. Golden star doesn’t even come close to describing how bright he makes the lives of those he lets into his heart, those that let him into theirs.”

Kenny beamed, smile finally reaching his eyes. “You understand. I didn’t think anyone could see why he means so much to me. Of course I love him, but it’s just, who he is makes everything around me brighter, and when he’s not with me, I miss that light. I miss him so much that it hurts. It’s hard to explain why, but you get it.”

“There’s the smile I love”, Cody said, “I knew it was in there. Kenny, you have your own light. You’ve been carrying your love for Kota around, in your heart, literally on your sleeve, he’s a part of you. You are never far from his light, you just need to tap into it.”

Kenny hugged Cody tight, with such enthusiasm, he rolled them both into the pillows, looking down into Cody’s eyes, he said “Thank you, I love you. I really appreciate you.”

Cody rolled them over, such that he was on top, “Anytime, anything you need”, he said, and leaned down to softly kiss Kenny.

Kenny smiled against Cody’s lips. “What I need right now is a shower, but I don’t want you to leave. I still need you, I’d like you to spend the night, if that’s ok. You could shower with me, or not, whichever, just please stay.” 

Cody rolled off of Kenny to sit up, “of course, not a problem. Let me just send a message to Brandi. You get in the shower, I’ll be in soon.”

*****

Kenny laid in bed while he waited for Cody to finish. His thoughts drifted to Kota, and for the first time he wasn’t sad, Kota’s love is always with him. The bathroom door opening snapped him out of his thoughts. Cody appeared in borrowed shorts that clung to him in all the right places. “You know, my shorts look good on you.”

Cody laughed, “They’re a bit short, and sort of snug, but I think they’ll work”. He slid in bed next to Kenny, pulled him close against his side, running a hand down his back to rest on Kenny’s ass, “how else can I help”.

Kenny snuggled as close as he could get, laid his head on Cody’s chest, over his heart. “This is all I need, just don’t let go.”

Cody squeezed Kenny to him, bent down to kiss his hair, “I’ll never let go”. He rubbed Kenny’s back till he heard the tell-tale signs of sleep in Kenny’s soft breathing. Then he let himself drift off, knowing that Kenny would be fine, Kota would be fine, they would all be fine.


	2. Kota/Nick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kota misses Kenny. And Nick. And everyone.
> 
> Nick gets a surprise facetime call in the middle of the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another friendship story, with implications of more.
> 
> Nick and Kota are an interesting pairing.
> 
> I feel like they've known each other long enough, and become good friends, that they could piece together conversations in bits of English and Japanese, and of course facial expression (which is why I had to make this a video call).

Nick was sitting in his home office editing some files when his phone rang. Glancing over at the screen, he’s surprised by the name that flashes. Smiling, he pushes the button to accept the facetime call. His smile quickly fades when the first thing he sees is the bruise around Kota’s eye - it seems to fill his whole face. “Oh my God, Kota, what happened!”

Kota smiles brightly, showing no signs of the pain he must be in, “Nick-san, is that how you say hello? We haven’t talked in a long time”.

Nick gives him a stern look through the phone, “it is when I see that your handsome face has a black eye. And it’s the middle of the night! Why aren’t you sleeping? What’s wrong?”

Kota’s smile dropped, he knew Nick would see through him. “I can’t sleep”

“I’ve got time, Kota. Talk to me, I may not catch all the words, but I’ll do my best” Nick replied.

Kota started talking in quick, but mumbled Japanese, trying to get a lot of words out in the short span of time before the sobs overtook him.

Nick stared at the screen, helpless, while his friend cried. “Kota, sweetie, please, try to calm down.” Nick said in a gentle voice.

Kota collected himself, “I’m sorry. I feel so much.” Kota laid his fingers on the screen, a gesture he’s used before when he’s had to talk to the people he loves through a screen, because they’re across the ocean.

Nick mirrors Kota’s fingers on his screen. “Don’t be sorry, I’m always here to listen. Start with something easy. What happened to your eye? That happened in your match, didn’t it? You guys were insane out there!”

Kota nodded “yeah, Natio has a hard head. I’ll get payback for it. He messed up my face.”

Nick smiled, “Kota, your face can never be messed up. You are as handsome as ever. You know, it kind of makes you look tougher. I’d kiss you if I was there, you’re still irresistible.”

Kota couldn’t help a small grin from spreading across his lips “nick, you know that screen never stopped you before.”

Nick made a kiss-face then kissed the screen, “you’re absolutely right.”

Kota laughed, “thank you, I needed that. I miss you so much. I miss you all. I miss..” he stopped and sighed.

“Kenny. You miss Kenny. I understand. Believe me, we all miss you too, especially Kenny. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you called, but why me? Why didn’t you just call Kenny”. Nick replied.

Kota gave Nick a look, one that said he should already know the answer, but he gave one anyway. “Because I don’t want to worry him, or upset him more”.

Nick nodded sadly “oh Kota, you’ve seen? The videos, I mean?”

“Yes,” Kota replied softly, “broke my heart to hear him crying. The worst part, he was up there alone.”

“Yeah”, Nick replied, voice cracking just a bit, “Matt and I stepped into the room as he was answering. He didn’t see us though, we left as soon as we saw that he was ok. We thought it may be worse if he noticed us.”

“You’re probably right. He likes to be strong for us. One of the things I love about him, he’s not afraid to show his heart to the world. Though, he’d rather not worry those that really love him,” Kota says, pride clear in his voice.

“He wasn’t alone that night, Kota.” Nick runs his thumb across in front of the screen, a gesture that would be across Kota’s fingers if he could hold his hand, though has been done this way, through the screen before. “We all made promises,we’re doing our best to keep them.”

Kota looks up, relief clear on his face. “He wasn’t? Were you with him?”

“No, when we left the screening room, we went to find Cody. We thought he would be the best person to comfort Kenny, and I think Cody needed comfort as well. You know that Cody loves you, right” Nick said.

“Cody is strange”, Kota said, laughing just a little, “but I love him too. I’m glad he was with Kenny, I’m sure they helped each other. I never wanted anyone to hurt.” Kota stopped, looked at Nick through the screen, tears filling his eyes again.

Nick tries to keep his own tears in check, he spreads his fingers over the screen again, trying to draw Kota’s attention. He wishes he could be there, actually touch him, hold him. “You haven’t done anything wrong. You and Kenny, you have different dreams, but it doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. Everything will work out, I know it will. I know it isn’t easy..” He stops, tears falling uncontrollably.

Kota mirrors Nick’s fingers, these small gestures may not seem like much, but they help. Nick, his Nick, is so sad, and he’ll do anything he can to change that. “Nicky-kun, hey, it’s ok. Please don’t cry. I can’t reach you.”

Nick sniffles, "I’m sorry, just hit me hard all of a sudden. You’re alone over there, Kenny has us. You both are doing so well chasing your dreams. I’m so proud of both of you. But I wish we could all be together.”

Kota shuffles around on the hotel bed, brings a pillow to the side, rests the phone on it so that he can still see Nick. “Nicky, can we lay down? Like we did before?

It had seemed silly the first time Kota had asked for this, but he’d done it of course, he’d do anything for Kota. Now it’s something they do whenever they want to be close, but happen to be an ocean apart. “Of course, anything for you. The sofa will have to work though, I’m in my office.” He gets comfortable on the sofa and pulls his pillow against his chest, leaning the phone on it. 

“The sofa is fine, less space, we need to cuddle closer. I’m not alone. You are right here. I told Kenny before he had to leave, as long as we’re in each other’s hearts, I’m never alone. That’s true for all of you. You guys are always in my heart”, Kota says, squeezing his pillow tight.

“You are always in our hearts as well,” Nick replies. “I know it isn’t like me to say things like this, but I’m going to anyway. Please get some ice on that eye. Please be careful this coming tour. I want you in one piece when we all finally get to see each other again.”

Kota laughs, his real genuine laugh, Nicky-kun you’d be so proud of me. I’ve been doing what I was told, using ice. I can only promise to try to be careful. You know what I’m like in the ring, I can’t help it.”

Nick smiles bright, “I know too well what you’re like in the ring, you’re amazing, and scary, but wrestling with you - on either side of the ring, just made me love you.”

“I seem to have that effect on boys, I need to be careful”, Kota giggled. “I will try not to be so scary though, the doctors keep yelling at me too. You mean it isn’t normal to know the first names of all the medical staff?”

Nick laughed “Not exactly, but that’s ok, normal is overrated. I’m really proud of you.”

“I lost my title though,'' Kota said, a slight sadness in his voice.

Nick tried to suppress a yawn, “you did, but I know you’ve got your eyes on a bigger prize.”

“I saw that! You could use a nap, I know it’s still early over there, but I know you’ve been working hard,” Kota said.

Nick giggled, “nothing gets past you. But you are the one that needs some sleep, you should have been asleep hours ago!”

Kota couldn’t keep from smiling. “Yes, I think I can do that now. Take a nap with me, Nicky? Like before? Don’t hang up, at least not till I’m asleep.”

Nick rearranged himself comfortably, hugging the pillow, arm slightly over the phone screen so that Kota could see it. He smiled at Kota, “Of course, I won’t hang up. Rest now.”

Kota snuggled closer to his pillow, arm over the phone screen as best he could to match Nick and still see him. “I love you Nicky-kun”.

“I love you too, Kota,” Nick said, watching as Kota drifted off to sleep. He didn’t have the heart to hang up, not yet, so he laid his head down and drifted off himself.


End file.
